Israeli PM warns of "runaway" Iranian nuclear issue

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned that the international community is moving too slowly to follow Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, reported local daily Ha'aretz.

"There is a technological clock and a diplomatic clock. The technological clock is like a runaway train and the international community like a car that is about to decouple," Netanyahu was quoted as saying at a meeting of the powerful parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Noting that world powers approve of the sentiment, the premier added that worldwide efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program have been on the rise over the past year, Xinhua reported.

Netanyahu rang the alarm as his administration has been calling on the international community to impose more sanctions upon the Islamic republic, which Israel and the United States accuse of secretly developing nuclear weapons.

Yet Iran has categorically denied the charge, insisting that its nuclear development is purely for civilian purposes.

The Jewish state regards a nuclear Iran as an existential threat, as the Iranian leadership has repeatedly called for Israel ' destruction.